An Abrupt End

Title: Resurrection Road pt4

Text: Mark 16:1-18

D.T When God’s will makes us tremble in astonishment, we must continue to be rooted trust

Introduction: Today we continue our series “resurrection road” by reading a different account of the resurrection of Jesus. Each gospel provides a slightly different perspective on the resurrection of Jesus. John’s account of the resurrection focuses on how the resurrection would affect Jesus' disciples (Mary Magdalene, Thomas, the fishing trip, Peter) Both Matthew and Luke tend to focus on the fulfillment of the Old Testament scriptures, and the fulfillment of Jesus' own words. Matthew also explains how the teachers of the law create a conspiracy suggesting the disciples stole the body of Jesus. Today we are looking at the resurrection account according to the gospel of Mark. The perspective Mark gives of the resurrection of Jesus is completely different and unique compared to the other gospels.

READ Mark 16:1-8

Mark 16:1–8 ESV

When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

The first thing which is unique about Mark's account of the resurrection is the scriptures themselves. If you are following along in your bible, you will notice the scripture continues after verse 8 where I stopped. Some of your bibles might have verses 9-20 in brackets, with an inscription “Earliest accounts do not include verses 9-20”.Verses 9-20 are vastly different from the style and vocabulary of Mark. It’s believed that verses 9-20 are actually notes from a scribe rather than Mark's words. Many bibles include parallel passages either in the margins or the center of each page. Early scribes likely would have done similar practices. Once they made a copy of a gospel, they would include notes in the margins which may contain parallel stories from other gospels. Over time these scribe notes would accidentally be included in the passage itself. This is likely what happened with the gospel of Mark.

However this means the way Mark's gospel ends is extremely abrupt and sudden. His account literally ends in the middle of the resurrection story.

Illustration: This is the equivalent of Star Wars “The Empire Strikes Back” ending as soon as Darth Vader tells Luke that he’s his father. Sure you’d get all the important information you need, however there would still be an irritating lack of resolution. Did Luke escape? Did he join Vader, did he flee?

Mark's account of the resurrection ends without telling us how the disciples reacted or any other account of this wonderful news being shared. Why? I am not sure. However Mark's sudden end does accomplish one thing, it lingers in the moment of the resurrection itself. Most of the other gospels include the moment of the resurrection obviously, however they quickly move on to the implications of the resurrection and what that means for us. Mark remains in that moment of the empty tomb, and by doing this Mark teaches us something about the resurrection which is frequently overlooked. The resurrection of Jesus was frighting. But why? Why would the women be fearful in the light of such good news?

Last week during our Easter sermon we talked about Luke’s account of the resurrection. In his account Luke mentions how the women would “Remember Jesus words” regarding his own claims to resurrection. This recollection would paint them a picture of everything that was happening. While the truth was clear to them, the weight and implications of everything was not. This would have been much bigger than any of them could have ever expected.

I fully believe the women understood they had discovered unprecedented and wonderful news that would bring hope to the rest of the world. However they did not fully comprehend what was happening. The women believed what had occurred, even though they didn’t understand it. This lack of understanding created fear. Because the women couldn’t fully grasp and comprehend just how big this moment was, the resurrection instilled fear upon them.

On one hand being 2000 years removed from the resurrection of Jesus gives us perspective, it’s truth is well established in church doctrine, and it’s well established in us. As well it should be

However being 2000 years removed makes us unable to understand the initial shock of this news. It’s really hard for us to understand how something can be so joyful, yet frightning at the same time. The women would experience the joy of the truth of the resurrection, but a deep fear in what it could possibly mean.

However the fear did not stop the women from spreading the news. The passage mentions how the women left the tomb keeping the resurrection a secret. However once they found they found the disciples, they told them everything. When Mark mentions they didn’t say anything to anyone, he is implying they tell everyone they met along the road the good news. They went straight to the disciples and told only them.

So what’s the major take away here? I believe this account of the resurrection teaches us 2 important lessons.

Sometimes the way God works makes us afraid. There will likely be a time in our lives when we can see God working in our lives. We realize that God is working in our lives in accordance with his plan, and we may fully trust in his plan. However sometimes the means by which he decides to work is beyond the means of our understanding. We may not always understand what is going on. This can make us uncomfortable, upset, and afraid. When God works in our lives we may find ourselves trembling and astonished.

In light of that fear, we must keep our faith. This leads to the second lesson. In light of the fear, trembling, and astonishment we might experience when God works in our lives. We must keep the faith. The women did not let this fear stop them from doing as the angle instructed. The women told the disciples and Peter about the truth of the resurrection. When God’s will makes us tremble in astonishment, we must continue to be rooted in trust. The women at the tomb displayed their trust in their willingness to do as the angle asked. We display our trust by continuing to live in God's commands, even when we are left trembling and in astonishment.